The ultimate Truth is beyond words. Doctrines are words. They’re not the Way.
BODHIDHARMATrying to find a buddha or enlightenment is like trying to grab space.
More Bodhidharma Quotes
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Our true buddha-nature has no shape. And the dust of affliction has no form.
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Leaving behind the false, return to the true: make no discriminations between self and others. In contemplation, one’s mind should be stable and unmoving, like a wall.
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Freeing oneself from words is liberation.
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The Way is basically perfect. It doesn’t require perfecting. The Way has no form or sound. It’s subtle and hard to perceive. It’s like when you drink water: you know how hot or cold it is, but you can’t tell others.
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Buddhas don’t practice nonsense.
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Still others commit all sorts of evil deeds, claiming karma doesn’t exist. They erroneously maintain that since everything is empty, committing evil isn’t wrong. Such persons fall into a hell of endless darkness with no hope of release. Those who are wise hold no such conception.
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But while success and failure depend on conditions, the mind neither waxes nor wanes.
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But deluded people don’t realize that their own mind is the Buddha. They keep searching outside.
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Buddha means awareness, the awareness of body and mind that prevents evil from arising in either.
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Trying to find a buddha or enlightenment is like trying to grab space.
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The mind is the Buddha, and the Buddha is the mind.
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Not creating delusions is enlightenment.
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Our nature is the mind. And the mind is our nature.
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If you see your nature, you don’t need to read sutras or invoke buddhas. Erudition and knowledge are not only useless but also cloud your awareness. Doctrines are only for pointing to the mind. Once you see your mind, why pay attention to doctrines?
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Buddhas move freely through birth and death, appearing and disappearing at will.
BODHIDHARMA